A single billionaire, a young nanny, and a surprise baby from USA Today bestselling author, Liv Morris.My life was ordered. Smooth and neat like my scotch. I had arranged relationships with a beginning and end. No romantic attachments was my motto.Then I met Maggie. A beautiful, young woman trying to find her place in the gritty world of Manhattan. She deserved more than a jaded man like me, so … than a jaded man like me, so I let her walk away.
But fate stepped in and an ex-lover surprised me with a baby she claimed was mine. Desperate I hired a well-recommended nanny sight unseen. When she knocked at the door of my penthouse, I opened it to find Maggie standing on the other side.
I watched Maggie lovingly care for my child and wanted to learn to be a father to my daughter. But having Maggie so close was dangerous. She was a terrifying ray of sunshine that threatened to thaw my frozen heart.
I needed her for my child.
At least that’s what I told myself.
Until it was too late.
more
This is a Fantastic read by Liv Morris,
A single Dad romance that read like a fairytale,and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I Loved the chemistry between Moody,broody Lucas and the delightful sweet Maggie,it was hot steamy and romantic…Esssentially these two have not very much in common but come together to take care of a surprise bundle that lands in Lucas’s life.I was completely entertained by their journey and it was a pleasure to read this book.
I highly recommend it.
After leaving a horrible job interview on Wall Street, Maggie just wants a cup of coffee. She doesn’t expect to fall into the sexy, polished man with piercing eyes’ arms…literally. Can this spunky, sweet, beautiful woman and this sexy, bossy, man find common ground?
What an absolutely fascinating story!!! Maggie and Lucas will steal your heart. My heart broke for Lucas. Holding onto so much guilt and anger for so long, but I loved watching him heal. Seeing how Maggie affected him, gave me so much of the feels. So much beauty in their journey. An absolute MUST READ!! You will fall in love with these characters!
Daddy Issue by Liv Morris is the story of Lucas and Maggie.
Maggie is looking for a job but has been helping to babysit while trying to find her dream job. Lucas doesn’t do emotions especially toward women and prefers to have a business arrangement when he does need to have a women around. There was a accident when he was younger that changed his mother along with another women he thought he loved but she wasn’t there for that. So when he happens to meet the Maggie who is a southern girl with her heart on her sleeve he knows he needs to walk away from her. Maggie tells him if they happen to meet again than it is Serendipity. A few weeks later Lucas ends up having something to change his life that he ends up needing someones help. Lucas’s friend calls on Maggie to help him which leads to them meeting again.
Enjoyed their story and kept reading until the end of it in one sitting.
Overall Grade:
There are some romantic tropes that act like candy; they sweeten our romantic soul. For me, sub-tropes such as rich billionaire and his nanny romance feed my “sweet tooth” for titillating stories. Usually, with this trope, the billionaire knocks up his nanny, and there’s an issue with propriety and ethics. Liv Morris’s Daddy Issues isn’t THAT type of billionaire/nanny story. Instead, this is a story about a broken man forgoing the richness of happiness in his world because he made a horrific mistake in his youth. A baby from an arranged, but temporary $exual relationship and a beautiful, strong nanny help save him from himself.
Lucas is a man with a controlled life. He controls his work, he controls his bedroom liaisons, and he controls his relationships with his family. He believes that this control protects him from the reward of happiness and love. In his youth, Lucas makes a huge mistake, and it costs him dearly. As such, he believes he is warranted little in terms of personal happiness.
Magnolia “Maggie” enters his life one day in a coffee shop. He saves her from falling, and they feel instant chemistry. However, given Lucas’s control, he lets her leave without the promise of any future connection. Two weeks later, he finds he is a father from one of his temporary, controlled connections. Adrift, his friend finds him a nanny, only to realize it’s Maggie. As Maggie infiltrates his controlled world, his interest in her grows, and it challenges his previous control. Will Maggie help him drop his entrenched walls of protection? Or is Lucas destined to live a lonely, unfulfilled life?
There is quite a bit that I enjoyed about this story. I am always a fan of a controlled, seemingly mean-spirited billionaire being brought to his knees by a strong, willful heroine who is emotionally more mature than him. And that’s the case here in Morris’s Daddy Issues. Of the two, Maggie is more insightful and self-reflective. When Lucas’s sister insinuates that he stopped growing emotionally after the incident that changed his family, she isn’t lying. This means that someone must aid Lucas on his journey of self-discovery. Morris has crafted Maggie is such a way that her influence on his life makes sense. I will say that her constant reminding of her bachelor’s in psychology was a bit too obvious for the storytelling; however, beyond that, Maggie is likable in a way that she endears herself to Morris’s audience, and her influence on Lucas feels believable.
Additionally, I appreciated that little Esme, Lucas’s daughter, is precious. Sometimes, authors love to create tyrant children who put the nanny through horrors. This isn’t the case with Morris’s story. Esme plays as big a part as Maggie in pushing Lucas through his emotional maturation. She’s sweet in a way that touches her father’s heart, allowing him to grow into happiness and love, both of which he had previously spurned.
What I tended to struggle with for this book is the “bipolar-esque” nature of Lucas. For most of the story, he fights his connection to Maggie, but it’s done in a way that feels inconsistent. I didn’t believe him. I also struggled with his interest in writing as a career because Morris didn’t show us, fully, his attachment to it. It’s mentioned twice, but it doesn’t seem organic to Lucas’s character. Since Lucas spends much of the story pushing Maggie away and then getting close to her, it confused me at times. When he finally makes his choice, I was still confused. They have a moment in a dance club in a private room where he lays out his decision, and I found myself re-reading the passage because their agreement bewildered me.
Even more, I wanted to feel a greater emotional attachment between Lucas and Maggie. Some times, it felt like there connection was purely physical, but then, Maggie would say she “loved” him. Their physical interest is clear, but the emotional and mental attachments seem invisible, at least until the end. In my opinion, the last quarter of the book is the most consistent, and it’s the best part. However, to realize that, you must read the first part to understand its strength.
I love a billionaire/nanny story. It’s enough to create my romantic diabetes. Liv Morris’s Daddy Issues has some of the qualities you love in that trope. More importantly, though, this story holds the message of loving yourself, even those parts of you that are broken. Lucas’s journey shows us the need to let go of mistakes and allow love to fill in all of your cracks.
I enjoyed reading Daddy Issues by Liv Morris. This story about a billionaire, his surprise baby and the nanny who is crazy enough to take it all on it a good one. Loved the “meet cute” with Lucas and Maggie. Serendipity is the best and it was included well here. I also really liked Maggie’s character and how she dealt with all that was thrown her way.
*4.5 Stars*
I absolutely loved the meet cute and the way opposites truly attracted in this book! I want more of these two!
Maggie is quirky, funny, and just trying to find herself in the big world of Manhattan. When she runs into Lucas Shaw, she is immediately intrigued by him. He runs a very strict and smooth lifestyle which means no long-term relationships, ever. After their meet cute, he knows she deserves better and lets her walk away. When an old tryst of his, shows up with his daughter, he is immediately in over his head and needs help. His best friend recommends a nanny who is great with babies and Maggie is who shows up at his doorstep.
My favorite part of this book was how strong Maggie is. Even though she’s struggling to find her place in the world, she is strong and refuses to put up with Lucas’s crap. She is determined to break down his walls and help him heal from the hurt of the past. Will she get through to him or will she end up just as hurt as he is?
I’m a sucker for books with babies and single dads. This one hit me right in the feels and I enjoyed the ride so much! I also loved all of the pop culture references in this story, specifically all the oldies songs and artists that were mixed in. They fit these two characters so perfectly.
This was my first book by this author and I don’t know where the heck I’ve been! I’m going to go back and dive into Jess and Barclay’s book as soon as I can and then check out the rest of her backlist!
P.S. I hope we can get a story for J.J. in the future. I fell in love with him, especially the way he immediately took to Esme.
Grateful to have received a complimentary ARC copy to honestly review.
Liv Morris has a way of taking tried and true tropes and spinning them into something so delightful, fresh and infectious I’m always looking forward to her next release. Daddy Issues delivers on all counts. Lucas and Maggie are so much more that a single dad – nanny fling. Maggie is an impetuous small town girl chasing her dreams in Manhattan when she crosses paths with a hot, suited mystery man in a coffee shop. The dream chasing isn’t panning out, so Maggie has fallen back on her skills as a toddler whisperer. The next thing you know she’s enlisted to save the day when her roomie asks her to help when a baby lands in the lap of a bad boy bachelor, and you guessed it. Lucas is her mystery man from the coffee shop. Sparks fly and Ms. Morris builds up this delicious tension between them. The kind of sweet, angsty tension that makes this book so hard to put down.
It’s a must read if you love grumpy, brittle billionaires turned into marshmallows by the love of a good woman as they discover the real meaning of fatherhood.
5 overy exploding stars
I love a good unexpectedly new dad/nanny book! Lucas & Maggie had such great banter throughout that I didn’t want to put it down! I loved being able to “see” more of their inner thought process and get to see what their motivations/fears were! The whole story was amazing!!
This was so so good we have a broken billionaire that has demons and a girl who is a breath of fresh air and the biggest heart with a great sense of humor and I loved Maggie her and Lucas could not be any different even though warned to stay away their connection is off the charts hot and she’s were she wants to be. I loved the dialogue it keeps you on your toes so well written with humor, intensity we get it all in this one and I couldn’t put it down.
Daddy Issues was another great read by Liv Morris. I really liked it. I loved Maggie. She was sweet, sassy and strong. Lucas, he was frustrating at times but I did end up loving him. I loved Lucas and Maggie’s connection. They were great together!
Liv Morris put two of my favorite tropes in one book, billionaire and single dad, so this was a win win for me. This book is full of intrigue, power, heartbreak, intensity and so much love. Lucas is a brooding man with a broken soul and it doesn’t seem like even having millions of dollars is helping his wounded mind or heart. A secret he’s been forced to keep is eating away at him with no end insight until he meets Maggie! She is a strong, beautiful, messy women with a heart of gold. She puts life back in Lucas’ eyes and his daughter Esme puts it back in his heart! I wanted to be Esme’s nanny or better yet her mom! This story will surprise you, make you hold you breath and have you fall in love!
Tracey, Life Reads With Friends
I’m a fan of surprise baby and single dad, less the age gap but it worked for Lucas Shaw and Maggie Talbot in this book. There’s a lot packed into this book with all those tropes plus there’s a bunch more going on with a broken billionaire with a secret in his past. The best part, the very best part was the coffee shop meet cute with Maggie’s mile a minute mouth and Lucas’ cool guy so long. I like Maggie very much, this Alabama girl has some spunk and a mouth to match calling him out on all his mess. I already laughed at her hysterical advice to her bestie Tessa in the first book in this series Bossy Nights.
Perfect timing and fate put this pair in each other’s path. Lucas is complicated guy but nobody is beyond help. Maggie taps her psychology and observes and asked just the right questions. It’s slow burn of sorts that is funny in itself. Unraveling Lucas from his past is the key to this story freeing him up to be able to love, everyone.
This story builds within the world of the first book, but stands completely on its own. Reading Bossy Nights will enhance the story but is completely not necessary. Morris delivers a delightful story with lots of layers and a wonderful HEA.